Silly question: can creamy WSS be bleached to white WSS?

[StarryPearl]

I guess the answer is probably "no", but I hope to confirm. Just out of curiosity as the other day I watched some Akoya oyster opening broadcast on Youtube and a majority of the pearls were cream or peach, which reminded me that most Akoya pearls were bleached (then many get pinked), which lead me to wonder can this be done to the WSS whose body color are not so white? I know WSS are not heavily processed and the high quality ones do not need this but is it viable to bleach? Does the thick nacre of WSS make this bleach processing less effective/not helpful at all?

 

[pattye]

What you saw were Chinese freshwater pearls, cream and peach, which had been implanted in the dead Akoya oysters.

Your question isn't silly at all, StarryPearl. There have been many "secrets" of the industry that have been revealed, and I'm sure some which haven't. My impression is that bleaching isn't done to WSS and there is minimal processing. Akoya nacre is much thinner and can be bleached, as you've noted. How are the darker WSS valued in comparison to bright white is something I'd have to research. I have heard that in a WSS harvest, pearls as dark as Tahitians can appear.

 

[Pareltje]

Peach colored akoya pearls don't exist as far as I can remember. You must have seen the "pearl party" kind of show. Those pearls are inserted in the dead oyster and put in chemicals to prevent the oyster from decaying. There's a thread about that on PG.
And as far as I know, wss pearls are not bleached. There are treatments to improve the luster. Some dull whites are dyed to make them marketable.

 

[StarryPearl]

Thanks, Pattye and Paraltje. The video I saw was one from this channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAgTyhzKWkY&t=1177s&ab_channel=ThePearlDude I doubted it as well because their blue "akoya" pearls looked nothing like mine, and some dark-colored looked like skillfully dyed. However, the oyster shells did look like they were tightly shut as if alive, and the relatively soft edge of the oysters looked intact and not like pried open before. Wondering how that could be done.

I learned on this forum that WSS are not bleached. I guess it will be very very difficult if possible at all to do that on creamy WSS pearls, otherwise the creamy ones can be processed and sell at better prices - again, just hope someone who tried or read about it can confirm.

 

[Pareltje]

Thanks, Pattye and Paraltje. The video I saw was one from this channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAgTyhzKWkY&t=1177s&ab_channel=ThePearlDude I doubted it as well because their blue "akoya" pearls looked nothing like mine, and some dark-colored looked like skillfully dyed. However, the oyster shells did look like they were tightly shut as if alive, and the relatively soft edge of the oysters looked intact and not like pried open before. Wondering how that could be done.

I learned on this forum that WSS are not bleached. I guess it will be very very difficult if possible at all to do that on creamy WSS pearls, otherwise the creamy ones can be processed and sell at better prices - again, just hope someone who tried or read about it can confirm.

They are dyed freshwater pearls inserted in dead oysters. No natural akoyas found in live oysters look like those pearls.

 

[StarryPearl]

They are dyed freshwater pearls inserted in dead oysters. No natural akoyas found in live oysters look like those pearls.

Thank you for confirming that, Pareltje! I recall that I saw on this forum natural akoyas look greenish, grayish, or yellowish. Was surprised to see pearls in that video and thought of getting some. Now I won't.

 

[pearlescence]

There can be natural white (in reality a very very pale grey) but mostly natural colour akoya are grey to blue or pale to deep gold (you get a green pearl when blue and gold meet).
I watched a bit of the video and those are all freshwater pearls from akoya shells. All fakeo razzamatazz.
You can order specific sizes, shapes and colours via sourcing websites like Alibaba for around $1 a pop.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Too bad Donna and the others were scammed by this person. This should be illegal.

 

[CortezPearls]

Too bad Donna and the others were scammed by this person. This should be illegal.

It should, but they "fly to low under radar" to be of interest to authorities.
The saddest part is that they build an illusion about something that is -in a way- "magical" (in a true sense), which is being witness to the birth of a pearl, just to make a profit.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

It should, but they "fly to low under radar" to be of interest to authorities.
The saddest part is that they build an illusion about something that is -in a way- "magical" (in a true sense), which is being witness to the birth of a pearl, just to make a profit.

Many of these scammers made themselves, and their families ill. Opening these night after night with the fumes from the formaldehyde floating inside in their homes and touching their bare skin. Some even had children involved with the openings.

 

[StarryPearl]

Well, forget my "Silly question: can creamy WSS be bleached to white WSS?", does anyone know if AlohaHawaii on Etsy's vacuum packed south sea pearl oysters are also this kind of fakeo?

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Well, forget my "Silly question: can creamy WSS be bleached to white WSS?", does anyone know if AlohaHawaii on Etsy's vacuum packed south sea pearl oysters are also this kind of fakeo?

While in a group from the UK looking into this industry I ran into someone who bought these pearls in the shell from this place. The woman was doing the reveal parties and bought tahitians and freshwaters from them. The tahitians were very low quality pearls coming out of the shell and after opening aprox 5 of them determined she couldn't use them for her business. She attempted to return the unopened stock but was told you had to return the whole lot unopened for your money back. She then showed me the ones she had opened, pitted and culls. By the way, do you really want to play with formaldehyde and its cancer causing chemical reaction in your home?

 

[pearlescence]

All pearl opening operations should be avoided.
That's it.

 

[StarryPearl]

While in a group from the UK looking into this industry I ran into someone who bought these pearls in the shell from this place. The woman was doing the reveal parties and bought tahitians and freshwaters from them. The tahitians were very low quality pearls coming out of the shell and after opening aprox 5 of them determined she couldn't use them for her business. She attempted to return the unopened stock but was told you had to return the whole lot unopened for your money back. She then showed me the ones she had opened, pitted and culls. By the way, do you really want to play with formaldehyde and its cancer causing chemical reaction in your home?

I see what you mean. I never bought and will never buy pearls/oysters like those. Actually I don't even like white Akoya with pink-overtone anymore (no offense to Akoya lovers!) after learning they are bleached and dyed pink. I have quite low tolerance of un-natural thing in terms of pearls and gems.

I asked because I saw someone bought two from them and got pretty decent look of WSS and GSS, and I was skeptical but debating whether I should tell her vs. that would ruin her happiness, then I thought I should at least make sure those are what I thought they are first. Thank you for sharing the story, lilliefuzzysocks , I am sorry for that person. That return policy really sucks.

 

[CortezPearls]

Well, forget my "Silly question: can creamy WSS be bleached to white WSS?", does anyone know if AlohaHawaii on Etsy's vacuum packed south sea pearl oysters are also this kind of fakeo?

Yes, they are...all of these ventures are playing to a primordial need in us Humans...we want to find a treasure! Your only real bet is to visit a farm and harvest pearls with the farmers.

 

[pearlescence]

Yup. This is the real thing! It is a life memory. View attachment B481C530 CE2A 4993 ADE2 43595256A9DB

 

[CortezPearls]

This is also the REAL DEAL:

 

[pearlescence]

Were you re-grafting those, Douglas?

 

[StarryPearl]

This thread is getting more and more interesting. Thanks very much for sharing such wonderful experiences, Wendy and Douglas, the photo and video are amazing! (And I kind of feel the oysters' pain when watching them cut, despite that I know they only have a ganglion and don't feel pain.)

After re-grafting, do you leave the oysters' cut just like that, only put it in certain environment for it to recover better, or do you suture the cut?

 

[CortezPearls]

Interesting questions StarryPearl. I love questions!
And this very morning I was watching a video with Jeremy Shepherd and Rui Gallopim about freshwater pearls and the "new FWP from China" (I actually added the video to the "News Section") and Rui asks Jeremy this same question about the "pain" and "irritation" that comes from the oysters when making pearls...or harvesting them and Jeremy and I are in PERFECT UNISON when it comes to this subject:

These mollusks DO NOT EXPERIENCE PAIN. Maybe some conchs and certainly the cephalopods could experience "pain", but pain is an actual CONSTRUCT of a brain...and if you don't have one: you can't feel it. These mollusks -for Jeremy and I- are animals that are almost "plant-like"...and plants and ALL life-forms experience something called "irritation" and they react to it. The "irritant" is anything that causes bodily harm. The creature's tissues and cells will react by secreting mucus and will try to "retreat" from damage. But because they do not have a brain...the response can actually just be limited to a small part of the body and the rest of the body is totally OBLIVIOUS to what might be happening on -let's say- the foot or mantle.

Now think about us... Humans. We can FEEL pain even if we are not being actively hurt! A bad memory can trigger it, seeing a person that has mistreated us, remembering a personal loss...there are so many things that will do it for us

So, from our perspective: oysters are "plantanimals" and we should be kind to them, never, ever mistreat them...but we should not concern ourselves too much with that feeling that we are hurting them, just like when you have a salad or an apple or banana. Enjoy and be Thankful for the fruits of Life.

In the case of re-seeding...this video is about harvesting Cortez Pearl using the "Rainbow Lip" oyster, so you can only use the oyster once (just like with Akoya oysters) since they are a short-lived species. The thing with the video is that I wanted to show you how the pearl comes out in an almost "poetic" fashion? The way pearls are extracted is totally messy and far from poetic: like squishing an egg.
So, once the video was shot...the oysters were all extracted from their shells, meat separated for sale and that was it. Not very poetic